


What About Now?

by cordeliadelayne



Series: Everything Changes [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Bottom Castiel, Light Angst, M/M, Sex, dean and castiel are friends, gabriel's default is jealousy, relationships are hard, why talk when you can have sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:59:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7679995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel discovers that sustaining relationships is harder than he thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What About Now?

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to Livejournal in 2009.

The familiar flapping of wings heralded the arrival of the angels and Dean barely looked up from his breakfast to nod a greeting at Castiel when he noticed Gabriel was standing next to him. And not just standing next to him, but well inside his personal space, hand twitching like it wanted to take hold of Castiel’s. And sure, Cas might not know about personal space, but Gabriel sure as hell did. The pieces slotted in to place a little too easily and as he grunted – surprise, or confusion, or annoyance- he wasn’t even sure himself, Sam looked up too.

“Hi?” Sam said, face contorted into that curious but suspicious face he usually wore around Gabriel. “What brings you two…here?”

“I wished to see how you were. After -.” He paused and looked towards Gabriel for guidance. The other angel stepped even closer into Cas’ personal space (and Dean would have sworn before now that that was physically impossible) and placed a hand on Castiel’s back.

“Well, this is new,” Dean said. He put down his breakfast, stomach suddenly churning, and got up. “I’m going to take a shower.”

He stomped off to the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

“He’s not going to have a shower,” Gabriel didn’t quite whisper into Castiel’s ear.

“Yes, _thank you,”_ Castiel responded with a sarcastic bite worthy of a Winchester. And then he disappeared into the bathroom after Dean. He could just hear Gabriel asking Sam if there was anything good to eat, before he blocked out their conversation entirely.

“Dean?”

“Cas, I’m trying to have a shower here.” He looked around the bathroom and picked up a towel but then put it down again.

Castiel stared at Dean in that infuriatingly open way that meant he could see the lie for what it was and wasn’t going to let it pass.

“I don’t know why you’re so upset about this development.”

“I’m not…” Dean stopped and glared at Castiel’s raised eyebrows. “I don’t know why I’m _annoyed_ about it either.” He sat down on the edge of the bath (Sam had insisted they spring for somewhere that had one, and one big enough for a giant, at that.) “Except, he’s the Trickster. And, oh, an asshole.”

Castiel nodded, as if he was taking Dean’s points very seriously. “Yes, I know. But – I don’t know how to explain my…feelings. And he has promised to help me in my search for God.”

Dean snorted. “Really? Was that before or after he got you into bed?”

“After,” Castiel replied, with a hint of his power dragging at the air in the bathroom. Dean stood up abruptly.

“Isn’t he your _brother_ , anyways?”

Castiel smiled indulgently. “He’s an Archangel. We were created from different strands of light.”

Dean frowned. Despite everything he and Sam had been through, and some of the tremendously weird stuff they’d encountered, the matter of fact way Castiel just came out with these things was still surprising.

“I would hope that you would be happy for me,” Castiel said in a particularly small voice. “I have no one else to share this with.”

Dean slowly closed his eyes. Now he felt like crap. “Yeah, okay. If you and Gabe want to do the horizontal tango, that’s your business.”

“Why would we want to dance?” Castiel asked, tilting his head.

Dean just laughed and patted Castiel’s arm as he left the bathroom. “Ask your boyfriend.”

####

Castiel collapsed back on to the bed, Gabriel an equally sweaty heap next to him. The only sounds in the room were their rapid pants and the soft drone of the television.

“Told you porn was hot,” Gabriel murmured eventually, fingers dancing along Castiel’s thigh.

Castiel’s whole body twitched in anticipation of Gabriel’s fingers next venture. It seemed that once the floodgates had opened, and Castiel could truly _feel_ , there really was no stopping him. Now he missed Gabriel when he left, disappearing to find God or just to get away – Castiel wasn’t certain whether he was allowed to enquire too strongly into what, exactly, Gabriel was doing. And he missed their touches – the soft press of lips against his cheek when they awoke from their not-really-sleep, the reassuring hand at his back when Castiel was confronted by yet another aspect of humanity that confused him, the slick slide of their bodies as they chased after their orgasms together.

Things were still awkward with Dean, and to a lesser extent Sam. But Dean had stopped making cutting remarks about Gabriel’s past and Castiel was trying to ensure that he and Dean spent some time alone, as they had used to do. Dean was his friend and important to him, and he wanted Dean to understand that. And in a small way he wanted Gabriel to see that he wasn’t entirely friendless. Not yet, anyway.

Gabriel moved onto his side and pressed a kiss to Castiel’s shoulder. “And what has your brow so crinkled this morning?”

Castiel sighed. “Nothing.”

“Which means Dean,” Gabriel replied, a hint of annoyance to his tone. “Of course.” He turned over onto his back and stared up at the cracked ceiling of the motel room. They’d been on a futile search for God when Gabriel had got bored and decided to introduce Castiel to the pleasures of watching gay porn. Things had developed just the way he had wanted them to after that.

Until now.

“Dean is my friend.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel replied, shortly. “I know.”

Castiel sat up. “Gabe, please.”

“Gabe? You even sound like him.”

Gabriel got up and with a thought was dressed and then disappeared from the room. Castiel looked forlornly at the space where the Archangel had been, and then disappeared himself.

####

“What brings you here today?” Dean asked, closing his eyes as he sucked as much coffee as he possibly could into his system.

“Gabriel and I had a fight. Of sorts.”

Dean raised an eyebrow and bit his lip to stop himself from saying what he thought about _that._

“I never realised it would all be so complicated. Gabriel is so -”

“Annoying?” Dean interrupted, not able to stop himself.

“Human,” Castiel replied with a withering stare. “He has far more insecurities than I realised.”

Dean opened his mouth to add to Gabriel’s list of failings, but then he took a closer look at Castiel. Forlorn didn’t even begin to describe how he was looking right now. And who was Dean to destroy the one piece of happiness Castiel had managed to cling on to? Hell knows they didn’t have enough of it in their lives to start with.

“My advice?” Dean asked. “Go find him, and fuck him senseless. Works every time.”

Castiel frowned and stared at Dean as if trying to work out whether or not he was being serious. But when it seemed clear that Dean did, in fact, mean for his suggestion to be taken seriously, Castiel nodded and disappeared.

“Fuck him senseless?” Sam repeated from the doorway of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. “Remind me never to ask you for dating advice.”

#####

It was cold at the top of the mountain, snow lying like a blanket all around the Archangel. He was hunched in on himself, sitting on the ground with his arms around his knees, staring out at the clouds. Castiel wondered if he were trying to communicate with Heaven, or just checking up on their family.

He missed being able to do that himself.

Softly he walked over to Gabriel and sat down next to him, trenchcoat spreading out behind him. Gabriel tilted his head slightly to acknowledge Castiel’s presence, but otherwise he was as still as a statue. Castiel had to reach deep within himself before he too could stop twitching with the need to move, to do _something_.

He’d once spent three years on the top of Mount Everest, communing with his Father, and now he could barely sit still.

“We’re not very good at this, are we?” Gabriel asked with a shake of his head. But before Castiel could answer Gabriel looked over at him and a lascivious grin bloomed over his face. “There is something we are good at though.” Castiel opened his mouth to ask what he meant when Gabriel pounced, pushing him to the ground and settling on top of him. He grabbed Castiel’s hands and held them high above his head.

“If you had any idea what you do to me,” he snarled and then they were naked and Castiel’s groan of surprise as Gabriel entered him - _slickandhotandohmygodsoperfect_ \- was swallowed up by Gabriel’s claiming kiss.

It was hot and dirty, the snow sizzling all around them at their combined body heat. Castiel was writhing, begging Gabriel to be _harderfastermore_ and Gabriel was giving everything he could, licking and biting at Castiel’s neck as Castiel arched up, shivering and flexing under every touch.

“Please, Gabriel, please, I need -”

“I know, I know what you need.” And with the faintest change of angle Castiel was coming, his back arching almost in two, sending Gabriel over the edge with him.

Gabriel collapsed on top of Castiel who immediately snaked his arms around the Archangel and held him close, rubbing soothing motions down his spine. Their harsh pants were the only sounds on the mountaintop; for all intents and purposes they were the only two creatures in the universe.

“We could stay here,” Gabriel whispered. “Stay here and no one would find us. No one would _want_ to find us.”

“I can no more leave humanity to its fate, than you can,” Castiel replied without hesitation. “This is our mess. We need to help fix it.”

Gabriel closed his eyes and sighed. “I could disappear. Just hideaway where no one, not even Lucifer, could find me.”

“You could,” Castiel agreed. “But you won’t.”

Gabriel turned over to his back and looked up at the stars. Then, taking Castiel’s hand in his own he extended his wings and let them shield the pair of them.

“No,” he said. “I rather suppose I won’t.”  



End file.
